As Sooryavanshi inches closer to ₹200 crore, Rohit Shetty says people were betting on film’s fate hours before release

Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi was the first big Bollywood movie to open in cinemas after the pandemic-induced restrictions were eased. Sooryavanshi, starring Akshay Kumar in the titular role, opened on Diwali on November 5 and raked in an opening day collection of ₹26 crore. In a new interview recently, the director revealed some members of the film industry were betting against the film’s success at the box office.

“Upaar wale ne izzat rakhli, audience ne bhi izzat rakhli. Itna pyaar diya hai (God saved my reputation, audience also. They showered so much love),” Rohit said in an episode of The Bombay Journey by Mashable India.

The filmmaker added he got to know some people from the showbiz circle thought he was ‘mad’ for releasing Sooryavanshi in cinemas: “Thursday night tak betting chal raha tha industry mein bohot logo ka. Apne ko pata chal jaata hai, apne ko koi bolta nahi darr ke. But malum tha. (The betting continued till Thursday night, amongst a lot of people in the industry. I got to know, nobody told me because they were scared. But I knew).”

Also read: Sooryavanshi box office day 1 collection: Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif bring back the fireworks, film opens to ₹26.29 cr

Talking about what exactly people were unsure about, Rohit revealed what was being said: “Release hoyega, yeh pagal ho gaya hai. Theatre mein koi nahi aayega. (Film will release but he’s gone mad. Nobody will go to the theatres to watch).”

Explaining why he wanted a theatre release for Sooryavanshi, Rohit added: “Mera yeh tha ki basic life shuru ho gayi thi nah. 50 percent pe business ho raha hai. But ho raha hai, touchwood (Basic life had started. Business was running at 50 percent, but was running. Touchwood).”

Sooryavanshi has been bringing in decent box office collections. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh reported, as of Saturday, the films box office numbers read ₹187 crore. “The shot at ₹200 crore cannot be ruled out,” he added.

Also read: Sooryavanshi movie review: Akshay Kumar’s high-octane action film is your Diwali gift this year

Sooryavanshi also features Ranveer Singh as Simmba and Ajay Devgn as Singham from Rohit Shetty’s cop universe of films. It stars Katrina Kaif opposite Akshay. The Hindustan Times review of the film said: “Sooryavanshi is not a three-hero film as the posters and trailers might try to make you believe. It’s an out-and-out Akshay Kumar action film with special appearances from Ajay Devgn, who plays Singham, and Ranveer Singh, who plays Simmba, in the last 30 minutes. These 30 minutes are the film’s highlight with its high-octane action, cars getting blown up, some stunning hand combat choreography taken to a new level, and the action-hero trio in their best form.”